Charles Harrison Demarest KILLINGTON —
Charles Harrison Demarest (one of Haskell’s Rascals) passed away on
March 30, 2020, following a period of declining health and a short
hospitalization at the Rutland Regional Medical Center. Charlie was born
in Randolph, on Aug. 3, 1948, the first son of Harrison Bowles Demarest
and Ruth Cooley Demarest. In 1951 the Demarests moved to the Haskell
section of Wanaque, New Jersey, where Charlie attended public school
through the eighth grade before entering Lakeland Regional High School,
where he graduated in 1966. At Lakeland, Charlie excelled in sports.
Despite sustaining a serious knee injury while playing freshman
football, he went on to earn varsity letters in both basketball and
baseball. Charlie recalled his childhood in Haskell as one of the best
times in his life. He remained close to many of his childhood, high
school friends throughout his life and communicated through the
“Haskell’s Rascals” website. He always loved to reminisce about the old
days in Haskell. After high school, Charlie attended St. Michael’s
College in Winooski, graduating in 1970 with a bachelor's degree in
business. While attending St. Michael’s, he played both basketball and
baseball in his freshman year. Following his college graduation, Charlie
began his career with the Factory Insurance Association before
accepting a position with the risk management division of Marsh and
McLennan. He worked his way up to a division management position in
their Boston office, but he did not enjoy working in the corporate
world. Being very independent by nature, in 1981 he returned to Vermont.
He first came to Killington as a weekend skier and he wanted to make it
his home. He and his wife, Marsha, ran a ski lodge for one season
before starting their first business, Demarest’s Shops and Services in
Pittsfield. While building a successful business, Charlie immediately
became an active member of the community, volunteering his time and
energy. He served two terms as a selectman in Sherburne. He was also a
member of the first responders, and served on the planning board. He was
particularly proud of his role in helping plan the Green Mountain Golf
Course in Killington, believing it was very important for Killington
become a four-season resort. After several years in business, Charlie
returned to school, earning a bachelor's degree in engineering at the
University of Vermont. He worked at IBM in Burlington for a few years
before opening the Waterwheel Trading Company in Killington. He like
being his own boss and the challenge of running his own business. He
also liked getting back to the Killington community, where he had many
friends. He remained there for the rest of his life. Always a sports
enthusiast, Charlie became an avid skier during his college years, an
activity he continued through much of his life. Later he took up golf
and became an avid golfer. He loved listening to “the oldies” and
hanging out in his “mancave” with his cats Woliver, Mollyanne, and
reminiscing about his days in Haskell, New Jersey. A special interest
was researching the history of the DuPont plant in Haskell, New Jersey.
Charles was protective of his family, especially his mother, with whom
he visited with great regularity while she was in an assisted living
facility in Randolph. What really set Charlie apart was his network of
friends. Not only did he maintain lifelong friendships with his high
school and college buddies, he also had a strong network of friends in
Killington. He had great loyalty to his friends who knew him as a guy
with a heart of gold. Charles will be greatly missed by family and
friends alike. Charlie is survived by his two loving brothers, Richard
Demarest from Boise, Idaho and Brian Demarest from Woodstown, New
Jersey; three nieces and two nephews; as well as two great-nieces and
one great-nephew, many cousins and friends. Given the current pandemic,
events to celebrate Charlie’s life will take place at a later date.
These events will be published once effective planning can occur. Online
condolences may be left at www.dayfunerals.com
Bryce Sammel has been named chair of the Windsor Central Modified Unified Union School District Board and Pamela Fraser vice chair through March 2021.
Both board members represent Barnard in three-year terms. Sammel’s term expires in 2021. Fraser’s ends in 2022.
Monday’s reorganization followed two board resignations: former chair Patti Kuzmickas of Pomfret, and Malena Agin of Woodstock. Their positions will be filled by the Select Board from each of their towns.
Kuzmickas was elected chair on March 9, but stepped down the following day amid claims of a flawed nomination process. On March 11, she resigned from the board. Agin tendered her resignation from the board shortly afterward.
Sammel was elected chair by unanimous vote. Fraser was elected vice chair over fellow nominee Ben Ford,10-5. Ford represents Woodstock.
Fraser said she wanted to serve in the position, since “I care very much about education.”
“It’s a major part of my life and my career.
I care about public institutions and I care about fairness,” Fraser said.
By a majority vote, the board rejected a motion to do away with the vice chair position.
Banios picked by Mass. school district
On Tuesday, March 24, the Hamilton-Wenham Regional School District in Massachusetts announced they had selected Mary Beth Banios as superintendent pending successful negotiations. Banios has been superintendent of the Windsor Central Supervisory Union in Woodstock since 2017. She was among four finalists vying for the Hamilton-Wenham position.
Mary Beth Banios, superintendent of the Windsor Central Union
School District, announced that she will be leaving the district in a
letter to school board members, Wednesday, March 25.
Banios told the board that she had gotten the job as superintendent
at Hamilton-Wenham Regional School District, in Wenham, Massachusetts,
and would be starting there on July 1, 2020.
BRIDGEWATER — Two tractor-trailers crashed head-on Monday on
a snowy state highway, leaving damage to the Bridgewater Corners Store
and several parked cars, according to police. No one was injured
in the crash that happened around 5 p.m. on Route 4 by the intersection
with Route 100 in Bridgewater, according to a news release from Vermont
State Police. A truck driven by Henry Davis, 38, of Cleveland, traveled
over the center line, hitting another tractor-trailer driven by Wesley
Wheeler, 63, of Brandon, Vt., police said. Wheeler’s truck veered off the road, hitting the Bridgewater Corners Store and two unoccupied parked cars. Police
and the Bridgewater Fire Department responded to the scene and shut
down one lane of Route 4 near the crash until 8 p.m. Monday.
The Windsor Central Supervisory Union (WCSU) School Board’s newly
elected chair has abruptly resigned and two other board members
reportedly have threatened to resign following accusations and an
election process described as “mistrustful” and “flawed.”
“Effective immediately, I am stepping down as chair,” Pomfret School
Board member Patricia Kuzmickas wrote in an email that she sent to board
at 3:12 p.m. on March 10, less than 24 hours after she was elected.
“It has been expressed to me today that the process by which I was
elected has led to members of this body to doubt my integrity and to
express an inability to trust me going forward. I will not argue those
points further but please know it was not my intent.
“I
apologize for the inconvenience this has caused the board. I will put my
FULL UNQUALIFIED support behind whoever is elected by this body going
forward and hope that the important work of the board can pro-ceed to
the benefit of our students and communities,” Kuzmickas wrote. She later
submitted her resignation from the school board.
By Wednesday
afternoon, Kuzmickas’ contact information on the board’s webpage had
been removed. Her position is listed as “vacant.”
Kuzmickas’s resignation comes after the board on March 9 appointed her by a vote of 9-7 over Louis Piconi of Woodstock.
At the March 9 meeting, School Board Member Jim Haff of Killington
nominated Kuzmickas for the chair position, and School Board Member
Clare Drebitko of Woodstock nominated Piconi.
“I nominated a
person who I thought really cared about the community and the kids, and
who would run a good meeting,” Haff said in a telephone interview.
“The collective will of the board was a vote for chair. The outcome was
Patti, 9, Lou, 7. Patty had the majority vote. Then individuals went
out to confront Patti questioning the process and then questioning her
integrity. I wonder, am I missing something here?” Haff said.
Haff said that soon after the vote four board members threatened to resign if Kuzmickas did not relinquish the role.
“I think it’s sad that a few people can get to somebody and put them in
a place in which they unfortunately resign. That they felt they were
badgered and bullied. That they can’t deal with this anymore and
resign,” Haff said.
In a three-page email addressed to the board on March 10 before the resignation, Piconi congratulated Kuzmickas on her win.
“Taking on this role is not a decision to be made lightly and I respect
(Kuzmickas) for stepping up. I would be lying if I said that I am not
disappointed. I’ve spent the last 13 weeks preparing for this role,”
Piconi wrote.
He added, “As part of that effort I used my
professional and board contacts to learn more about how districts like
ours solve tough problems. Part of that work may benefit your
leadership.”
Later in the message, he said that he planned to resign following personal attacks on his character.
“Given that there seems to be a majority of board members that are
willing to criticize my character without speaking to me I will let you
know it is my intention to resign.”
Piconi said a formal letter of resignation would be submitted after his return from New York City.
In an email exchange between Woodstock board member Malena Agin and
Haff on March 10, also before Kuzmickas’ resignation, Agin wrote, “I am
suggesting this (election process) be clarified immediately because if
someone is questioning due process, then consider this my resignation
too.”
Agin, writing in the same email thread, said, “It was
Patti’s consent to Louis’ email that did it for me, Jim. Woodstock at
its worst. Lies, manipulation and deceit. They win again but I really
can’t stomach it anymore.”
Agin did not respond to an email seeking comment.
Woodstock board members Clare Drebitko and Ben
Ford did not return March 12 emails from the Standard seeking comment.
However, newly appointed board vice-chair Bryce Sammel, in an email on
March 12, confirmed that Kuzmickfall as “turned in a letter of
resignation to the district’s central office.
“Unfortunately, it
appears there have been some individuals contacting the media speaking
about interactions between specific board members that are untrue and
unsubstantiated by the people mentioned,” he added.
“The board
recognizes the many challenges it has faced and continues to face
uniting many communities and diverse priorities. It further recognizes
the need for the community to understand when information, that is not
the collective will of the board, is being offered by individuals, that
it does not represent the perspective of the mindset of the board as a
whole,” Sammel wrote.
WCSU board member Pamela Fraser of Barnard said she could address some, “but not all,” of the election controversy.
“A small group of board members were surprised that Patti was running
for chair, because she had only decided to run a few days before and
they had not heard. There was nothing improper about the voting process,
but they were unhappy with not being made aware that she would run,”
Fraser wrote in the March 12 email.
“This small group discussed
this with Patti after the meeting and the next day, and this led to
Patti’s resignation. In turn, this fact then upset other members who
believed that due process was followed and that it was wrong to question
the outcome of the vote. I personally into this latter group that feels
it was not proper to not simply accept the outcome of the vote,” Fraser
wrote.
In an email sent on March 10 to Kuzmickas, Fraser wrote:
“I am not sure I understand why a board member’s late decision to run
for chair is considered mistrustful. No one running for chair should
ever be considered inevitable, it’s an election.”
Fraser proposed that the issue be continued as an agenda item “for a meeting in the near future.”
In a letter dated March 11 to the school board, Superintendent Mary
Beth Banios described the WSCU School Board as being “at a crisis
point.”
She wrote, “With difficult decisions related to
competing priorities, potential multiple board resignations, challenges
related to board leadership etc., there is no more important time for
the board to pull together. It is a critical juncture.
“Despite
multiple attempts to resolve the board’s challenges internally, the
board must now look for external support to address this ongoing strife
and be willing to embrace commitments that must be made in this process.
“Your appointed board chair, Patti Kuzmickas, has made the decision to
resign. As the board leadership dilemma continues to evolve, I will be
working with Bryce Samuel, appointed vice chair of the board, on meeting
agendas and potential structures to assist the board in resolving the
internal challenges it is facing,” Banios said.
Windsor
Central Supervisory Union Superintendent (WCSU) Mary Beth Banios has
been named a finalist for the position of superintendent of the
Hamilton-Wenham Regional School District (HWRSD) in Massachusetts. Michelle Bailey, vice-chair of the HWRSD School Committee, confirmed
Thursday that Banios is among four finalists chosen out of a field of 22
candidates by a screening committee. The Hamilton-Wenham school district is comprised of 1,839 students in grades pre-K-12 and is located on Boston’s north shore. In a March 11 letter to WCSU School Board members, Banios announced
that she had “recently made the decision to explore returning to
Massachusetts as a superintendent.” “The decision is grounded in both personal and professional reasons,”
Banios said. “I have just learned that I will be named a finalist for
the superintendent in the Hamilton-Wenham school district in
Massachusetts and that this will become public information this
evening.” “Regardless of the outcome of my exploration of opportunities in
Massachusetts, I want to assure you that I remain committed to this
district and the students it serves for as long as I am your
superintendent.” Bailey said the HWRSD position is being advertised with a salary in
the range of $185,000 to $196,000. Banios’ current salary as WCSU
superintendent is $140,000. Bailey said her committee is expected to make a decision on the
finalists at the end of March. On Monday, two members are scheduled to
conduct a site visit of the WCSU district, she said.
